| Description: | From the “Illustrated Manual for the Recognition and Diagnosis of Certain Animal Diseases”, published in 1982, by the Mexico-United States Commission for the Prevention of Foot and Mouth Disease, this image depicts a close view of a bovine’s lactating teats displaying extensive coverage by lesions, due to a bluetongue (BT) infection. This bluetongue virus is a Reoviridae family member, and a member of the genus, Orbivirus.
“BT is an infectious, but non-contagious viral disease of ruminants transmitted by insects, and characterized by congestion, edema and hemorrhage in an affected animal. In sheep, symptoms include fever, emaciation, oral lesions, lameness, and a substantial death rate, frequently with the heaviest losses in lambs. Cattle usually have a milder disease with a low mortality rate; sometimes the disease in cattle may be diagnosed only by inoculating sheep with bovine materials. In Africa, BT has been confused with foot-and-mouth disease.” |
